Look, your webcam is probably going to end up in the middle of your screen in an ideal scenario anyway, so why not just… put it there to begin with? There are a couple of ways to do this — you can buy a webcam specifically designed to be mounted this way, such as the Center Cam , or you can get a mount that sits in the middle of your screen, such as the PlexiCam Pro V2 , which is a clear, acrylic webcam mount that hangs on your monitor and puts the camera right in the center of your screen.
This might seem obvious, but it's not just about how you look… it's about what people can see in the background. I know that not everyone has the space, resources, or willpower to set up some sort of perfectly curated streamer-ready background, and that's understandable. But there's probably some middle ground between showing off piles of laundry and unsuspecting roommates, and looking like you're ready to launch a Twitch partnership.
If you can't clean up your background before you get on a call, use the power of zoom and crop. Try to make the area directly behind you as neat and camera-ready as possible, and then use your webcam's software to zoom in and crop so that people just can't see what's just outside the frame.
While you don't want everyone to see a pile of junk behind you, you also don't want to look like you live in an asylum. And that's what you look like when you just have a blank white wall behind you. If you have to be tucked up against a wall (and, turning your desk around to hide the mess is a completely valid strategy), just… put something on the wall. A picture, a painting, a sign, some of that stick-and-peel wallpaper, anything. It doesn't have to be fancy; it just has to look like you're anywhere that's not an endless void.
Most video conferencing apps have an option to blur your background and/or replace it. I'll just come right out and say it: Blurring your background looks terrible. Yes, I know everyone does it, and it's generally accepted in workplace video calls, but that doesn't mean it looks good — that just means we're all willing to overlook how bad it looks. And replacing your background rarely works well, unless you're against a blank white wall (in which case you should just throw up some art and go with it). If you really can't make a real background work, consider a pop-up greenscreen for a more seamless background-replacing experience. And if you must blur your background, make sure you at least zoom in and crop so that people focus on you, and not whatever you're mysteriously hiding behind you.
This is not an exhaustive guide to how to look good on a webcam, but it's a start.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware covering peripherals, software, and custom builds. You can find more of her work in PCWorld, Macworld, TechHive, CNET, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, SHAPE, Cosmopolitan, and just about everywhere else. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-25/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Social Links Navigation Senior Editor, Peripherals Sarah Jacobsson Purewal is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware covering peripherals, software, and custom builds. You can find more of her work in PCWorld, Macworld, TechHive, CNET, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, SHAPE, Cosmopolitan, and just about everywhere else.
Jabberwocky79 Disses my 4K camera I bought for $120, then proceeds to recommend a non-4K camera that's $200 :ROFLMAO: In all seriousness though, good article. I 1000% agree with the take on blurred background usage. Reply
PEnns Good article. And the advice about the the blank wall behind you (amazing how many people have blank walls, which is not a big deal, unless you're on camera!). A quick trip to Goodwill, Salvation Army, other thrift shops and you can land a very decent painting or 2 that will do wonders to the void behind you – without slaughtering your bank account! (i.e $20 – $40 for a decent one or even 2)! Reply
dwd999 Here's my tip on lighting: look up; is there a ceiling there; and is it painted white? You can bounce any type of lighting fixtures off of the ceiling to produce a more natural spread out lighting effect. You can get the least expensive torchiere style floor lamps, place a floodlight type bulb in them and bounce them off of the ceiling to spread out the light in a natural way. Reply
Gururu The only thing I can do is turn off the camera. Reply
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